Department for Transport

Aviation: Ukraine

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the report of the Dutch inquiry into the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine on 17 July 2014 to be published.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Dutch Safety Board are aiming to publish their report in into the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine on 17 July 2014, in October this year.

Driving: Young People

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made with the first phase of research into how telematics can reduce accident rates among young drivers; and when the second phase of the research will begin.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Phase one of the telematics research project has been completed and a written report is currently being finalised for Ministerial consideration. Initiation of phase two research will be dependent upon the findings from phase one.

Home Office

Corruption and Money Laundering

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by Transparency International, Empowering the United Kingdom to Recover Corrupt Assets, which claims that the police lack the resources and adequate legal processes to bring prosecutions for corruption and money laundering.

Lord Bates: We have published the UK Anti-Corruption Plan, which sets out our commitment to tackling corruption and its proceeds. The Government established the Economic Crime Command of the National Crime Agency to lead, co-ordinate and support the national law enforcement response to money laundering and corruption. The National Crime Agency's new International Corruption Unit creates a single UK centre of excellence within the NCA for dealing with international bribery and corruption. It brings together resources from the Metropolitan Police Service, the City of London Police and the NCA.Tackling these crimes is not just about action by the police. The Serious Crime Act 2015 closed a number of loopholes in the Proceeds of Crime Act and has made it easier to obtain restraint orders. The Serious Crime Act also made it a criminal offence to participate in the activities of an organised crime group. We have improved our information sharing arrangements, with the National Crime Agency leading work with the financial sector to improve our response to money laundering and corruption.On 14 December 2014 we announced a review of the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regime to develop ways of better identifying money laundering and terrorist financing, and to prevent the dissipation of the proceeds of corruption.The Government welcomes the report of Transparency International on the recovery of corrupt assets. We continue to consider all proposals, to give law enforcement and prosecutors the tools that they need to do their job.

Police

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in the review of the publication of Taser data and other use of force by police officers.

Lord Bates: It is vital that we do all we can to ensure the police use of Taser and other use of force are appropriate and proportionate, and for its use to be transparent to the public. That is why the Home Secretary asked the national policing lead Chief Constable David Shaw to work with the Home Office on an in-depth review of the publication of Taser data and other use of force by police officers. CC David Shaw is due to update the Home Secretary shortly on the emerging findings of the review.

Hallucinogens

Lord Tanlaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to reschedule psilocybin from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to enable its use for medicinal purposes, in particular with regard to alleviating the mental suffering of patients diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Lord Bates: The Government has no plans to reschedule psilocybin. Drugs that are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, such as psilocybin, are harmful and can damage people’s mental and physical health when misused. We will not circumvent the regulatory process by which drugs are assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for their safety and efficacy as medicines.

Department of Health

General Practitioners

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the results of a survey on behalf of Monitor, which found that one in ten people are dissatisfied with their general practitioner surgery.

Lord Prior of Brampton: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 17 June 2015.The correct answer should have been:

On 1 June 2015, Monitor published Improving GP Services: Commissioners and Patient Choice, which included the findings of a nationally representative survey conducted by Ipsos Mori.   The report noted a high level of satisfaction with general practice overall. It found that 81% of patients were satisfied with their general practitioner (GP) practice, while only 10% were dissatisfied.   Monitor’s report found that, after location, patients most value the ease of getting an appointment when choosing a GP practice. In order to improve access for patients, the Government has invested £175 million over two years through the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund. This is testing improved and innovative access to GP services through longer opening hours, such as at evenings and weekends, but also different ways of accessing services, for example the use of Skype consultations. Altogether, there are now 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices, meaning that over 18 million patients are expected to benefit from improved access and transformational change at local level by March 2016.Additionally, the Primary Care Infrastructure Fund is investing £1 billion, including and £25 million as part of the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund, over four years to improve premises and information technology, which will also improve access.

Lord Prior of Brampton: On 1 June 2015, Monitor published Improving GP Services: Commissioners and Patient Choice, which included the findings of a nationally representative survey conducted by Ipsos Mori.   The report noted a high level of satisfaction with general practice overall. It found that 81% of patients were satisfied with their general practitioner (GP) practice, while only 10% were dissatisfied.   Monitor’s report found that, after location, patients most value the ease of getting an appointment when choosing a GP practice. In order to improve access for patients, the Government has invested £175 million over two years through the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund. This is testing improved and innovative access to GP services through longer opening hours, such as at evenings and weekends, but also different ways of accessing services, for example the use of Skype consultations. Altogether, there are now 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices, meaning that over 18 million patients are expected to benefit from improved access and transformational change at local level by March 2016.Additionally, the Primary Care Infrastructure Fund is investing £1 billion, including and £25 million as part of the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund, over four years to improve premises and information technology, which will also improve access.

Surgery

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the number of cancelled operations in the National Health Service in the final quarter of 2013–14 was the highest ever recorded.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England collects the number of operations cancelled at the ‘last minute’ for non-clinical reasons on a quarterly basis.   The number of cancelled elective operations in the final quarter of 2013-14 was not the highest ever recorded. The highest number of cancelled elective operations was recorded in quarter 4 2000-01.   Cancelled elective operations as a percentage of elective admissions are stable. In both 2009-10 and 2013-14 cancelled elective operations represented 0.9% of elective admissions, despite a 546,000 increase in the number of elective admissions in this period.   The National Health Service should do everything it can to reduce cancellations and keep them to an absolute minimum. Where this is unavoidable, patients should receive treatment as soon as possible. This is reinforced by a pledge in the NHS Constitution for all patients who have operations cancelled, on or after the day of admission (including the day of surgery), for non-clinical reasons to be offered another binding date within 28 days, or the patient’s treatment to be funded at the time and hospital of the patient’s choice.

Surgery

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to reduce the number of cancelled operations in the National Health Service.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why there has been an increase in the number of cancelled operations in the National Health Service since 2009–10.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England collects the number of operations cancelled at the ‘last minute’ for non-clinical reasons on a quarterly basis.   The number of cancelled elective operations in the final quarter of 2013-14 was not the highest ever recorded. The highest number of cancelled elective operations was recorded in quarter 4 2000-01.   Cancelled elective operations as a percentage of elective admissions are stable. In both 2009-10 and 2013-14 cancelled elective operations represented 0.9% of elective admissions, despite a 546,000 increase in the number of elective admissions in this period.   The National Health Service should do everything it can to reduce cancellations and keep them to an absolute minimum. Where this is unavoidable, patients should receive treatment as soon as possible. This is reinforced by a pledge in the NHS Constitution for all patients who have operations cancelled, on or after the day of admission (including the day of surgery), for non-clinical reasons to be offered another binding date within 28 days, or the patient’s treatment to be funded at the time and hospital of the patient’s choice.